Railroad-rail.



v PATENTED OCT. 23, 1906.

S. w.. CARTER.

RAILROAD RAIL.

vAPPLICATION IRILEJ.)y FEB. 16. .1906.

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bolts 10, as shown.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL W. CARTER, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

RAILROAD-RAIL.-

No.A 833,919. I

Specification ofv Letters Patent.

Application led February 16, 1906. Serialllo. 301.519.v l

To all. whom it may concern.

Be it known thatr I, SAMUEL W. CARTnaM of Omaha, inthe county of Douglas and State of Nebraska-,have invented a new and usefuLImprovement for Railroad-Rails; andv the same, referencel being lhad'fto thel accom` `panying drawings, and to the characters of referencemarked thereon, which form part of this specification; i

This invention relates toimprovements in pilot-rails for reducing-friction on railroad curves.

.The object of thelinvention is to provide a pilot-rail havingl arranged therein a series of` antif'riction devices, whereby the friction and Wear on the'flanges of the car-wheels and on the track willbe reduced to a minimum.

Another object ism-provide means whereby the space between theends of the. rails, due to. the contraction ofi the-latter, will be covered"V and Athey antifriction devices. preventedxfrom droppingor being caught in said spaces.

v A further object is to provide means wherebythe antifriction devices will be preventedy from=running together and binding or cramping on. downgrades or aty the lower ends of long curves.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain. novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

' In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1' is a side view of a portion of'- a pilot-rail ccnstructed land arranged, iny accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical crosssectional view through a pair of track-rails and the pilot-rail, showing the position of the car-wheels when passing over the same. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the pilot-rail, showing the arrangement of the antifriction devices therein and Fi 4 is a detail cross section-of the pilotrai showing the parts of the saine separated.

Referring more particularlyy to the drawings, 1 denotes the inside or lower track-rail, adjacent to the inner side of which and suitably spaced therefrom is a pilot-rail 2. The pilot-rail--2 is preferably formed in two' sections 3 and/1, which are bolted together by The section 3 of the pilot-railiisprovided on its upperedgewitha laterally-projecting flange 3a, inthe upper side of which is formed a. continuous groove or channel forming part of a .raceway 6-, the other part of which is formed by ay continuside of a laterally-projecting overhangingfiange 4, for-med on the'upper edge of the -sec-` tion-1 ofthe pilot-rail.

and 4a ofthe pilot-rail, is disposeda seriesof antifrictionl devices, which are hereshown and are preferably in the form ofy steelibearing-balls l1, said balls being of such size andl soarranged inthe raceway 6 that they pro-f ject beyond the sideso'rginner edges ofthe flanges 3aL and 4f* a sufficient distance to be engaged by the flange of the wheels traveling in Fig. 2 of the drawings. rI'he engagement of the fiange on the Wheelstraveling on track l will prevent the flanges ofthe wheelson from engaging saidv rail, as will be understood.

lock 5. section and have the same diameter` as the balls-lfl to fit withinthe raceway andproject beyond the flanges 3a and 4 thefsame. distance as the-balls. The ends of the bars or blocks 5.areroundeditio-corres ond with the peripheries of the adjacent ba ls'which bear against saidends. T he f barsv or blocks 5 serve to-separate the ballsintosectionsandi also to cover the-space between the adjacent` ends of the pilot-railscaused by the contraction of' the rails, thus preventingl theballs from being caught Aor dropping` into said; spaces. In addition to the bars or blocks 5 I provide stop or retaining bars or blocks 7, which are similar in construction to the blocks 5 and are arranged in the raceway 6 at certain intervals to revent the balls from running together and) jamming at the lower ends of curves or on downgrades. The bars or blocks 7 are of slightly greater'diameter oneV way than the distance between the flanges 3a and 4a of the raceway, said flanges being recessed to provide a seat for the bars, as shown in Fig. 1. The ends of the recesses-in the flanges form shoulders against which the ends of the bars bear, thereby holding the latter against longitudinal movement and also permitting the bars or blocks to be removed Patented Oct. 231,.)1906.

ous groove or channel'formed in the under In ythe raceway 6, formed theflanges3aj on the adjacent track-rail 1as clearly-shown the opposite, high, or outside track-rail13.

In; the raceway 6 at each joint A. of the ilot-rails isvarranged a steeldividing bar or- Said bars are cylindrical in cross--`VL IOO lIO

- from the side of the lot-rail.

The bars 11 are further held in p ace by a wedge-shaped bolt or key B, which is passed through alined apertures in the flanges 3a and 4a and in the bar, as shown in Fig. 1. rPhe bolt or key B is provided with a reduced and threaded lower end to receive a retaining-nut. By providing for the removal of the bar or block 7 the balls 1l may be quickly removed from and replaced in the raceway, thus facilitating the taking out of a broken ball or foreign matter from the raceway. The pilot-rails are held together at their ends by fish-plates 14 er other suitable fastening devices, through which the bolts l() are passed.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to Without departing from the principle orisacriiicing any of the advantages of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is`

. l. A pilot-rail having a raceway, spherical antifrictional bearing devices arranged in said raceway, and means to prevent the jam- ,ming or running together of said antifrictional devices, substantially as described.

2. A pilot-rail having a raceway, antifrictional bearing devices arranged in said race- Way, and means to preventr said bearing devices from catching or falling in between the adjacent ends of the rail-joints, substantially as described.

3. A pilot-rail having a raceway, antifriction bearing-balls arranged in said raceway, a removable stop bar or block to prevent the crowding or jamming of said balls, and means to'prevent the latter from catching or falling in the space between the ends of the rails, substantially Aas. described.

4. A pilot-rail having a raceway, antifriction bearing-balls arranged in said-raceway, a

removable stop bar or block to prevent the crowding or jamming of sald balls, and a d1- viding-block arranged in said raceway over the joint of the rails to separate said balls into series or sections and to prevent the saine from catching or falling in the space between the ends of the rails at said joint, substantially as described.

5. A pilot-rail having a raceway, anti'frietion bearing-balls arranged in said raceway, a removable stop bar or block to prevent the crowding or jamming of said balls, said bar or block being adapted to lit in a shouldered recess in said raceway, a bolt to removablyv hold said bar in place, and a eylindri I.al di` viding bar er block having rounded ends corresponding to the periphery of said balls, the side of said. bar projecting from the raceway after the manner of said bearing-lmlls, substantially as described.-

6. A pilot-rail having a raceway, antifriction bearing-balls arranged in said raceway, a cylindrical stop bar or block having rounded ends, said bar being adapted to 'lit within a shouldered recess in said raccway and to project from the same at the side after the manner of said bearing-balls, a retaining-bolt to `'hold said bar in place, and a dividing bar or block arranged at the joint of the pilot-rails to separate said balls into series and to prevent the latter from dropping or catching into thespace between the ends of said rails at said joints, substantially as described.

7. A pilot-railformed intwo sections which when secured together in contact form a raceway, and antifriction bearing devices arranged in said raceway, substantially as described.

S. A pilot-rail formed in two sections, laterally-projecting flanges formed on said sections to form a raceway, antifrictional bearing devices arrangedy in said raceway, and means to prevent the crowding and jamming of said balls, substantially as described.

SAMUEL XV. CARTER. VVitncs'ses:

.EUGENE MORGAN, J. FRANK VnITE. 

